World Food Day

Your esteemed newspaper on Oct. 17 published an opinion by Prof. Didin S. Damanhuri on the problems faced by rice farmers, especially the declining price of rice in the market. This opinion and the others in the paper were thought-provoking. The publication of these opinions was welcome on the occasion of World Food Day. I would like to give the following suggestions toward a solution to the present problems:

1. A commission consisting of experts from concerned disciplines should be appointed to examine and suggest the minimum support price for rice every year, taking into account the cost of rice cultivation, such as seed, irrigation, labor, fertilizers, pesticides, interest on loans, etc.

The price should be remunerative to farmers and it should be announced before the crop is harvested. It should be remembered that farmers are responsive to a positive price policy. If the price is remunerative, farmers will invest more money in rice cultivation.

More rice means not only self-sufficiency, but also will enable the government to export rice and earn foreign exchange.

2. The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) should step in and purchase rice stocks if the market prices fall below the support price. That means farmers would be guaranteed that their rice stocks would be purchased at the announced support price by Bulog.

3. Bulog should get funds from the government for all its operations, such as the purchase of rice for the maintenance of buffer stocks, storage, transportation and distribution, in addition to administration costs. It will work on a no-loss and no-profit basis.

4. Bulog should work under the direction of the food department in the government; it will only implement the policies of the government as a corporation.

5. If the government wants to sell rice at a subsidized price to any section of society (say people below the poverty line), the subsidy should be borne by the government; Bulog will only implement the scheme.

6. The import of rice should be controlled by the government and it should not result in falling market prices. The maintenance of market prices to satisfy farmers and consumers is necessary.

Dr. K. KRISHNAMURTHY

Jakarta